AN ACT relating to teachers of exceptional children.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Daniel Grossberg

Provides eligible exceptional-children teachers a $10,000 annual salary supplement, potentially topped up locally, as long as they remain in qualifying classroom positions.

to Primary and Secondary Education (H)

#education #elementaryandsecondary #finance #teachers

Summary of HB 921 (2026 Regular Session, Kentucky)

Purpose and intent

HB 921 establishes a targeted salary supplement for public school teachers who are certified to teach exceptional children. The bill aims to attract and retain qualified teachers in special education by providing a dedicated annual supplement, funded through state and local mechanisms, and tied to current employment in a position requiring the specialized certificate.

Key provisions

Eligibility for the supplement

Applies to:
Public school teachers with a professional certificate for teaching exceptional children.
Teachers at the Kentucky School for the Blind or the Kentucky School for the Deaf (operated by the Department of Education).
The supplement is available only while the teacher remains in a classroom teacher position that requires the exceptional-children certificate.

Amount and funding mechanics

Each eligible teacher earns an annual salary supplement of $10,000 for every year the conditions are met during the life of the certificate.
If the annual appropriation from the General Assembly is less than $10,000, the local board may provide an additional supplement to bring the total to $10,000.
The supplement is added to:
The teacher’s base salary on the local board’s single salary schedule (and counted in calculation of Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System contributions), or
The state-employed teacher’s base salary (and counted in calculation of retirement contributions).

Continuation and termination of the supplement

The supplement ends if the teacher is no longer employed in a classroom position requiring the exceptional-children certificate.

Administration and funding source

Local boards of education or the Department of Education are responsible for requesting reimbursement from the Education Excellence Fund (as described in KRS 157.330) to support these supplements.

Who is affected

Eligible teachers of exceptional children in Kentucky public schools.

Teachers at state-operated schools for the blind or deaf.

Local boards of education and the Department of Education, which handle administration, funding requests, and integration with retirement contributions.

Procedural and timeline notes

The bill creates a new section within KRS Chapter 157 and references a specific funding source (Education Excellence Fund) for reimbursements.

It specifies that the supplement is perpetual so long as the eligibility conditions (teaching position requiring the certificate and continued employment) are met; otherwise, the supplement ceases.

The action history shows House introduction and committee referrals in March 2026, with the bill proceeding through the standard legislative process.

Potential impact

Financial: introduces a $10,000 annual supplement per eligible teacher, with potential top-up by local boards if state appropriations lag.

Retirement: the supplement is included in base salary for retirement calculations, potentially influencing retirement benefits.

Staffing: designed to improve recruitment and retention of special-education teachers by increasing total compensation.

Fiscal: shifts some cost to the Education Excellence Fund via reimbursements to school districts or the Department of Education.